Radar systems are commonly in use on vessels today throughout the world. Such systems are used on all manner of vessels, including powered craft and sailboats, from the largest to the smallest, and in all sorts of waterways. Most radar systems in use today for civilian use have a relatively low power; ocean going vessels of necessity rely on systems having much great power, in order to provide images well beyond the horizon.
The common technique for mounting a radar dish to a vessel is to solidly mount the radar rotating structure within a housing which is firmly affixed to a solid structure of the vessel. In large part, such radar structures are rigidly mounted because the radar systems in use in smaller craft were adapted from radar systems which were developed from large, ocean going vessels. However, a rigid mount on a large vessel works well because the large vessel experiences relatively small degrees of roll, pitch, and yaw. These kinds or motions, however, can play havoc with the image displayed by a radar mounted to a small vessel which routinely changes its aspect in relation to the horizon, such as by pitch, roll, yaw, and natural canting of the vessel due to acceleration and deceleration.
Rigid mounting of a radar on small vessels, whether powered craft or sailboats, has other drawbacks, For example, in order to gain the maximum range for the relatively low power system as previously described, it is desirable to mount the transceiver at the highest point possible on the vessel, and this is most often a mast structure of some kind. For small craft, the top of the mast moves substantially in aspect, orientation, and azimuth as the vessel traverses even relatively calm waters.
A number of structures have been used to try to stabilize the radar transceiver in its movement with the movement of the vessel. Since the radar structure is commonly mounted on a mast, small movement of the vessel in any of the six degrees of movement is amplified at the position of the radar. For example, certain gimbal systems are commonly used to attempt to dampen the rolling of the vessel to help maintain the radar parallel with the surface of the water. Such systems are passive and offer no control by the operator of the vessel. Particularly, such systems offer little in the way of leveling control for one of the common movements of the vessel and that is the rising of the bow and dipping of the stern when the vessel operates at speed, then returns to a more level flight when speed is reduced.
The present invention is directed to solving this need in the art.